Feeding mechanism for addressing and other machines.



S. G. COX. FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 29, 1904.

Patented July 23, 1912.

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S. C. COX. FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER MAGHINBS.

APPLICATION FILED IBB.29, 1904.

Patented July 23, 1912.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

S. G. COX. FEEDING MECHANISM FOB ADDRESSING AND OTHEKMACHINES; nruonxonrILnn us, as, 1904.

1,033,232. Patented July 23, 1912.

8 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

S. G. COX.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER mcnmns.

APPLICATION FILED I'EB. 29, 1904.

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S. G. 00X.

:FEEDING- MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 29, 1904.

Patented July 23, 1912.

8 SHBETS-SHEBT 6.

S. G. COX.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 29, 1904.

1,033,232. Patented July 23, 912.

8 SEEETFBHEET 7.

3 I XQ X (I' S. G. COX.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER MACHINES.

APPLIOATION FILED FEB. 29, 1904.

Patented July 23, 1912.

SANDFORD C. COX. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR. BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS.TO

COX ltlULTl-MAILER- COMPANY, OF AUGUSTA, MAINE, A CORPORATION OF MAINE.

FEEDING MECHANISM FOR ADDRESSING AND OTHER MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23, 1912.

Application filed February 29, 1904. Serial No. 195,869.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SANDl-ORD C. Cox. a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois. haveinvented certain new and use ful Improvements in Feeding Mechanism forAddressing and other Machines. of which the following is a full, clear.and ex act specification.

This invention relates to mecnanism for feeding papers to addressingmachines and the like. and has for its object to provide a simple andefficient automatic mechanism for such purpose.

\Vith this end in view this invention consists in certain features ofnovelty in sul stantially the construction. combination and arrangementof parts by which the said objects and certain other subsidiary objectshereinafter appearing are attained, all as fully described withreference to the acccmpanying drawings and more particu larly pointedout in the olail'ns.

In the said drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of an addressingmachine embodying this invention. Fig. l is a detail sec" tion of thesucker valve. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the opposite side of themachine presented in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged plan view, partlybroken away. Fig. l is a vertical cross section taken on line l t, Fig.2. Fig. 5 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on line 55, Fig. 3.Fig. (3 is a detail side elevation of the mechanism for feeding thepapers from the hopper to the eonveyer tapes, a portion of the hopperbeing shown in vertical section. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view of agate or stop for the papers, hereinafter described, shown in sideelevation and partly in vertical section. Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailview of the sucker-bar and actuating mechanism shown in side elevation.

"Generally speaking, in the operation of a machine of this class, thepapers to be ad dressed are preferably folded one or more times andplaced in a hopper or feedtrough, from which they are gradually fed by afollower board to the outlet end-of such hopper, the movement of thefollower being regulated or governed in proportion to the rate of speedat which the papers are removed from the end of the hopper by suitablePushers. or other means. and which pushers act to force the outermostpaper in between convey'er tapes after such paper has been pulledoutwardly by a pneumatic sucker, or other equivalent means, while themain supply under the outermost paper is held in place by means of agate or stop vibrating alternately with the movement of the sucker; andwhile between the tapes the paper is arrested by suitable stops or gageswhich position it with relation to a trip or slugholder. while a stamperor platen inipresses the paper against the type surface. after which thetapes continue the travel of the papilr to a suitable receiver where thepapers are deposited on edge in regular order and suitable markers areinserted between the papers where desired for separating one batch ofpapers from another by automatic mechanism working in harmony with theprinting mechanism.

The slugs bearing the addre ses are contained in a race or galley whichis provided with means for yieldingly urging the slugs forward to theend of the galley, where they are taken otf one at a time and depositedin the slugdiolder or wheel, and after they are printed from they areautomatically ejected from the slug-holder or wheel into a receivinggalley, which stores them in their regular order. The present invention.however, is limited more particularly to the mechanism for feeding andcontrolling the feeding of the papers.

In the drawings 1 designates the hopper .or feed-trough inwhieh thepapers shown at 2 are preferably placed on edge and slightly at anincline with relation to the bottom of the hopper l, and the hopper 1 isalso preferably inelined. The lower end of the hopper l is openand thebottom of the hopper is provided with a number of belts, preferablycomposed of chains 3. which run over suitable idlers 4. 5. the latter ofwhich are on a. driven shaft 6. which derives motion from a pawl Tengaging a ratchet 8 secured to said shaft 6, see F ig. 6. The pawl 7 ispivoted to an arm S) loosely journaled on the shaft 6 andeonneeted tothe lower end of a rod 10, the pawl being'held in engagement with theteeth of the ratchet by a suitable spring 1], and this rod 10 isprovided with a lug or hook 1Q adjustably secured thereto by set screw13. and the upper end of the rod passes through a guine or keeper '14secured to the side of the hopper 1, a coil spring or other suitablemeans 15 being interposed between lug 12 and guide 14 for normallydepressing lug 12 and rod 10, and thereby returning pawl 7 to the limitof its backward movement, this movement being limited by stop pin 11; onrod 10 engaging the upper side of guide 14.

Depending near the hook or lug 12 is a hook I? which swings from a pivot18 on a. rocker arm or lever 19 securedto a rocker shaft 20 journaled inbrackets 21, 22, and extending across the hopper 1. (See also Fig. 4.)The arm 19 connected by a pitman 23 with a crank disk 24 secured to ashaft 25, which is driven by mechanism on the opposite side of themachine. as will be presently described. Thus itwill be seen that as thecrank 21 revolves the hook 17 will be raised and lowered, and should itat this time be in engagementor line with the lug 12. intermittentrotation would be imparted to the shaft 6 and consequent intermittenttravel to the chain belts 3, thereby feeding the papers downwardly inthe hopper 1 by frictional contact with their lower edges which restupon said chains as the lat.- ter run in guide grooves 26 in the bottomof the hopper. Mechanism is provided, however. for holding the hook 17out of line with'the lug 12 at all times excepting when the papers arenot sulliciently advanced in the hopper 1 to enable the othermechanisms, which will be presently described, to engage and remove themone by one. The means for thus controlling the action of the hook 17preferably consists of one or more gages 27. Figs. 4 and 6, rigidlysecured to a transverse rocker shaft 28 mounted in the brackets 21, 22,and so positioned that. they will be engaged by the outern'tost one ofthe papers as the latter advance to the lower or outlet end of thehopper; and this shaft 28 is provided at one end with a depending arm.29 which carries means for engaging the hook 17 and holding it out ofcontact when the papers press the gages 27 outwardly beyond a certainpoint. This means on the arm 29 preferably consists of an adjustablescrew 30 threaded therein and having its end arranged to engage a springtongue 31 secured to the inner side of the hook 17, the tongue 31 beinga convenient means of giving the hook operative connection with thescrew without resulting in undue wear and objectionable noise on thehook, and the object of the screw being to adjust the relation betweenthe hook and gages 27 so that the time of engagement and disengagementbetween the hook and the lug 12 may be varied to suit the requirements.The papers are held in the described inclined position in hopper 1 bymeans of a follower 32 Whose lower end is provided With hooks (.r lugsadapted to he engaged between the links of the chains 3, so that thefollower 32 will be compelled to advance with the papers and also assistin their feeding movement.

It found that. the best way to arrange the papers and feed them fromthehopper l is to turn them folded edges downward, but this brings thedoubled edge at one side of the hopper and the single edges of thesheets at the other side, and consctplently one side of the series orsupply of papers longer lengthwise of the hopper than the other sideowing to the multiplication of th. doubled edges which are, of course,thit: 'er than the edges that are not doubled and lie close together.(lonsetpicntly. if the follower l e so constructed as to hold thedoubled end or edge of the last paper in the series as far forward asthe opposite end or edge thereof. the compression at one side of thesupply would he so much groaterthan that at the other side of the supplyas to ('tlll.*t the papers to clog in the me hanism provided forremo't'ing them from the hopper: or. on the other hand. should the feetmechanism. comprising the adjustable g s 27 be so adjusted as to avoidundue pressure at the doubled side of the supply. the single side wouldnot be fed sul'ricicntly far forward to enable. the mechanism forremoving the papers from the hoppcr to operate prop erly on their sideof the supply. in order to meet both of these ditliculties and feed thepapers forward with uniform pressure throughout their entire surface.the follower 32 is so constructed that it docs not advance as far on oneside as it does on the other. or. in short, the side opposite thedoubled nds or edges of the papers is cut away from top to bottom, asshown more clearly in Fig. 3, and this side is supported by an arm 3tbent haekwardly and resting upon the side wall of the hopper 1 so thatit does not compress the doubled ends of the papers unduly, while at thesame time it serves in a sufficient degree to prevent that side of thesupply of papers from lagging behind at the top, the bottom or loweredges being urged forward by the chains 3. As the papers are thus pushedforward by the conjoint action of the chains 3 and the follower 32 theycome against a stop or gate 35 which journalcd in suitable bearings inan extension 36 of the bottom of the hopper and extends entirely acrosssuch bottom, see Figs. land 7, and it is in the form of a flat blade soas to rest against the supply of papers and hold them in place againstthe frictional action of the chains 3 and the movement of the follower32 until the movement of these members 3 and 32 is discontinued throughthe action of the gages 27 throwing the hook 17 out of line with the lug12. lVhen the papers thus come to rest against the gate 35 they are inaccurate and proper position to be engaged and removed by one or morepushers, preferably two, one on each side, in the form of needle blocks37, 38, secured to the lower ends of rods 39, 40, respectively, whoseupper ends slide in guides 41 rotatably mounted on a cross rod or shaft42, so that the rods 39 40 may oscillate to enable the pushers 34', 38toadapt themselves to the face of the outermost paper. These pushers areconnected. to their respective rods 39, 40 by pivots 43, (see Fig. l)and are pressed normally into engagement with the surface of theoutermost paper in any suitable way, by frictional engagement of thepivotal members, or, if desired, by springs 44, the upper end of each ofwhich is secured to one of the. rods 39, 40. and bears at its lower endagainst the back of the block.

When it is desired to stop the operation of the pushers 3T, 38 on thepaper they may be turned upwardly on their hinges 43 and when in suchposition the springs 44, the lower ends of which are bent at an angle asshown at 4.5, engage over the lower edge of the block to hold it in thisdisengaged position. The rods 39. it) are given a reciprocating movementfor causing the needle blocks or pushers 37, 38 to move up and downacross the face of the paper, by means of the rocker shaft 20 whichderives its mo tion from the crank 24, as before explained, and which isprovided with a pair of rocker arms it; connected by links 47 with therods 3!). it) in any suitable way, as by means of collars or clamps -48to which the upper ends of the links 47 are pivoted. Thus it will beseen that at each revolution of the crank 24 the two needle blocks orpushers 3T, 38 will be raised and hovered. \Yhen they rise 01' moveupwardly their needles will pass over the paper without' tearing orpuncturing it by virtue of the downward inclination of the needles. asappears at 37* in Fig. (3, but when they descend this inclination of theneedles causes them to dig into the outermost one of the papers and pushit downwardly providing at that instant the gate 35 is removed to permitthe lower edge of the paper to pass. In order that this operation of thegate 35 may be accomplished at the proper time, one end of the gate isprovided with a crank arm 49 which is pivoted to the upper end of a rod50 whose lower end is engaged by a spring 51, or other suitable means,acting normally to push the rod upwardly and hold the gate 35 closedagainst the supply of papers, as shown in Fig. 7, and the lower end ofthe rod 50 is also engaged by a cam for moving the rod in the wppositedirection against the action of spring 51 and thereby opening gate 35 atthe proper time toypermit the lower edge of the outermost paper to pass.The lower end of the rod 50 is shown as provided with a yoke 53 emhraeinhub 54 of the cam 52 as a means of holding the end of the rod inposition and one side of the yoke 53 is provided with a lug 55 arrangedin the same vertical plane as the cam 52 and adapted to be engagedthereby. The cam is so formed that it will allow the gate 35 to remainclosed for a little more than one-half the rcfolution of the cam, whenit rapidly opens the gate and permits spring 51 to suddenly close it,the parts being properly timed with relation to the operation of crank24, so that the pushers 37, 38 will begin their downward movement by thetime the abrupt enlargement of the cam 52 engage; the lug 55 and thegate is fully open; but in order that the lower edge of the paper may beremoved out of the path of the gate 35 to permit the gate to close indue time against the remaining supply of papers and also to avoid thepossibility of the paper being forced downwardly against the open gate.a suitable means is provided for taking pUS5Q lUll of the lower edge ofthe outermost paper after the gate 35 opens and holding it aloof fromthe gate, whereby the gate may close against the next paper and thuspermit the outermost paper to be pushed downwardly without thepossibility of any interference. As a means for accomplishing this asuitable pneumatic sucker is employed and adapted and arranged to act inharmony with the movement of the gate 35. This sucker mechanism is inthe form of a hollow bar 56 (see Figs. 4 and 8) provided on its underside with a number of suckers 37 adapted to engage the lower edge of theoutermost paper to bend the same lmt'kward in an arc toward the upper orfree end of the paper without bending he entire body portion of thepaper and hold said edge aloof in the i'nanner shown at 58 in Fig. 5when the bar fit) is elevated or pulled outwardly, and to the end thatthe bar may be thus actuated it forl'ned on or secured to two crank arms.79. tit). pivoted to the sides of hopper l on suitable brackets (31 andthe crank arm 30 is in the form of a bell crank with an additional arm(32 to which pivoted one end of a rod 63 passing through a guide (it andsupporting a coil spring 65 .which acts between the guide (34 and theshoulder (iii on rod 63 for throwing the sucker bar 56 downwardly withits suckers 57 against the paper at a time preferably before the pushers3T, 38 begin to act on the paper. \Vith such an arrangement, the bodyportion of the outermost paper will hold the remaining papers in thehopper and serves to prevent the next adjacent paper from slipping orbecoming dislocated when the outermost paper removed and while the gate35 is moving into position to engage the lower edge of the paperadjacent the one being removed. \Vhen the sucker bar is loweredcommtu'iication is established between it and any suitable source ofsuc-v tion, such as a tank 67 from which the air 3 has been exhausted byany suitable exhaust pump, or other means, 68, connected with the tankby pipe 69. This communication between bar 55 and tank 67 is establishedthrough a flexible tube 70 secured to anipple 71 on one end of bar 56and to a valve housing 72 (see parti ularly Fig. 1*) connected by pipe73 with ti e tank 67 and in the housing 72 is located a alve 7 1 havinga crank arm 75 provided with a lug 76 which is pressed normally againstthe periphery of a cam 77 by means of a spring 78, so that when 'theirregular portion of the cam reaches the lug 76 the valve 74 will beopened and connnunication established between the sucker bar 56 and thevacuum tank 67, and at this time the suckers 57 are in their loweredPOSllqlt'ill against the paper, and hence take possession of it. so thatwhen the bar 56 again. elevated the paper will be pulled outwardly orheld aloof. as shown at 58 in Fig. 5, and when again released by thesuckers 57 the gate will hare returned to its engaging position and(onsemiently theioutermost paper will, fall on the outer side of thegate. The sucker bar 56 is thus elevated by a ca ['11 T9 (see Fig. 8) ofsuitable form engaging with an anti-friction roller or lug 80 on a forkor yoke 81 straddling the shaft 25 on which cam '79 mounted and by whichit is driven, yoke 81 having an arm 83 which is pivoted to an arm 81,secured to cranks 60, in any suitable way, as by means of screw 84; andthe two cranks 60, 8t being pivoted on the same stud thereby serving tooscillate sucker bar 56 upwardly against the action of spring 65.

The cam 77 is mounted on a shaft 86 which is the same shaft whichsupports and rotates the cam and this shaft derives motion from theshaft 25 through the intermediary of a sprocket 87 secured to shaft 25,and a chain belt or other suitable convneetion 88 running also over asprocket 89 on the shaft 86. the chain belt 88 thence passing around asuitable tightener 90, thus simultaneously imparting motion to the twocams 52, 77, and operating them in unison with the feed mechanismcomprising the belts 3 and the pushers 37, 3S, and with the gate andsucker bar.

The shaft 25 supports and rotates a roller 91 which projectssufficiently under the gate 35 to receive the impact of the elevatedpaper 58 (shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings) as it is pushed downwardlyover the gate 35 by the pushers 37, 38, and as this roller is revolvingtoward the left, as viewed in Fig. 5, it tends to carry the paper-inthat direction and to encourage its entrance between the upper side ofsuch roller and an idle roller 92 mounted close to and parallel with theroller 91, but with its axis farther along theline of movement of thepaper than the axis of roller 91 and it is smaller than the latterroller so as to leave room for the operation of the sucker bar 56 andalso for the edge of the paper as it is pulled outwardly thereby, thusavoiding the possibility of the paper being pushed downwardly withoutentering between the rollers. In the end of the frame of the machineopposite and parallel with the roller 91 is mounted roller 93 and belowthis a tightener roller 94. and passing over these'rollers 91, 93, 94,and a guide roller 95, are a plurality of tapes 96; and arrangedopposite and parallel with the roller 92 is an idle roller 97 which maybe mounted in brackets 98 adjustably secured to standards 99, so thatthe roller 97 will also act as a tiqhtener, and passing over the rollers92, 94 are a number of tapes 100 which run parallel with and preferablyon top of the tapes 96 and serve to begin to convey the paperhorizontally from the supply in the hopper as soon as its lower edgeenters between the two rollers 91, 92 and thus conduct them to the meansfor printing or applying the address thereto, which will not bedescribed, but which mechanism forms the subjectmatter of a separateapplication, filed in the U. S. Patent Cities on or about June 23, 1906,Serial No. 323,015.

Secured to and mounted on ahorizontal shaft 101 is a wheel or drum 102,which constitutes a holder for receiving the slugs or lines of types andcarrying the same into position for impression against the paper as thelatter is held between the tapes 96, 100, the wheel or drum beingadapted to hold alarge number of such slugs. at once, but to print fromthem one at a time, the uppermost one, when it arrives at the positionindicated in Fig. 1, being the one which is printed from and when inthis position it is just below the upper fold of the lower tapes 96 andthe lower fold ofthe upper tapes 100 and when in this position isdirectly under a stamper or impression device which forces the paperdownwardly into contact with the previously inclined surface of the typeor slug, it being understood that the tapes 96, 100 pass to either sideof the drum or wheel 102. This Stamper or imoted at 104 to a rocker arm105 and having its lower engaging surface curved preferably on the arewhich it describes around the center 104, so that, ifnecessary, the shoewill 'pression device consists of a shoe 103 piv-' move in the directionofmrotation of the v a slow rate of speed,

that in which the paper moves. This rocker arm 105 derives itsoscillating movement at. the proper time from a shaft 107 on which it ismounted and which shaft is also pro vided with a cranl: 108 having acrank pin 109 engaging in a cam e'roove 110 of a cam 111 which is soformed as to oscillate crank 108 when the paper arrives over the slugcarrier 102 and the slug is in the proper position, and to hold the armstationary with the shoe 103 elevated at other times. The cam 111 ismounted on a horizontal shaft 112 which serves for drii in'g' the shaft101 at out continuously. through the intermediary ot a worm 11:1 on theshaft 112 and a worm gear 111' on shaft 101. and'this shatt 112 alsoserves for driving the shaft through the intermedr ary of miter-gears115. 110 secured to shal'ts 112, 25, respectively. The shaft 112 isitself driven by miter-gears 117, 11-9 on shaft 112 and'a main drivingshutt 119, respectively. the latter shaft also serving as a means ofdriving the tape roiler 0;}. and it might here be explained that the driing shaft 119 may be driven from any suitable source of power. as anelectric motor it), through the intermediary of gears 12] and belt 1:22.which runs over a pulley 12 constituting a part of any suitable clutchwhose other member is indicated at 121 and is under the control of ashift lever 12? provided also with a handle 120 on the opposite side ofthe ma-' chine. The shaft 110 therefore rotates only when the clutchmembers 12 12 are in engagement. but since it is desirable to keep upthe vacuum in tanl; 137 the pump 08 may be operated continuously withthe pulley 1217 by a sprocket 127 secured thereto, but loose on shaft119 an connected to a crank 12s by means of chain lzttand s 'nocltetwheel 130, the crank being connected by pitman 131 to the piston rod13201 the pump.

The slug or type carrier, specific construc tion of which forms nopartof the present invention, is in the form ot a drum or wheel providedaround its circumference at short intervals with a plurality o't'slu;seats in the form of radial teeth 133 so that the outer edge orprintingsurtace projects beyond the outer end of the tooth in such aposition that downward pressure againstthe printing surface when theslug arrives at the highest point of its travel and directly under theStamper 103 will be exerted lengthwise of the vertical axis of the slugand the radius of the drum and hence will not tend to unseat the slug,The slugs are held in position by clamping members 136 controlled bysprings 137. which latter are secured at the points 138, 139, Fig. 1.The slugs are arranged in a galley 141 conveniently arranged below thehoppcr and are fed therefrom by an endless conveyor 142 to the drum 102and which conveyer receives its motion in any suitable manner. The slugsare inked as they move along the galley in any suitable manner and areejected from the galley to the drum 102 When they reach the end of thegalley.

lVhen the slugs are delivered to the drum they are carried slowly aroundwith the drum 102 and in the direction of movement of the paper as thelatter travels between the two sets of tapes 06, 100, and as theysuccessively arrive at a position under the stamper 103 the latterdescends into contact with the paper, as above described, and producesthe impression from the slug thereunder, the stamper turning on itspivot 10st in the direction of movement of the paper to accommodate thesliding movement of the drum which takes place while the stamper isperforming its impression operation. It is evident, however, that sincethe drum travels slowly and the paper, while between the tapes andotherwise unrestrained, travels at a high 'ate of speed, which isdesirable for getting the paper to and from the point where theimpression is made with as little delay as possible. the paper must bearrested momentarily, or at least retarded, so that it cannot travel ata greater speed than the rate of rotation of the drum 102; and inas muchas the tapes 90, 100, produce ditferent degrees ot friction on the endsof the paper, and for other causes, the paper is liable to be out oftrue with one edge in advance of the other when it arrives under thestanlper 103, and consequently, in addition tobeing' retarded or stoppedwhile the impression is being made. it is desirable to provide means forpositioning it or truing it up under the stamper. The means foraccomplishing these two objects constitutes no part of the presentinvention, but generally stated may be one and the same means, andconsisting preferably of one or more gages or stops 210, 211, (Figs. 3and 5) supported-on rocker arms 212, 213, respectively, which are inturn secured to a rocker shaft 211 extending across the machine andhaving its end provided with an arm 215 operated by a cam 210, see Fig.3, so formed as to elevate the gages 210, 211 and hold them elevatedfrom the time that the stamper 103 rises until the paper has entirelycleared the gages 210, 211, when the latter again descend in readinessto arrest the next paper. This cam 316 is mounted upon and driven by theshaft 119, which, as before explained, also rotates the tape roller 93.After the address has been printed on the papers they are delivercd to areceptacle and then are properly assorted as will be described.

For a clear understanding of the machine the delivery mechanism willalso be described, but this part of the machine forms the subject matterof a separate application filed in the UA S. Patent Office, on or aboutJune 11. 11 06, Qerial Number 321,175, patented August 1911. Number1,001,307.

\Vhen the paper leaves the stops or gages 214), 211, it: is carrieddownwardly past the roller 93 by that portion of the belt or tape 96which travels around the idler O l and by one end of the set of tapes100 which passes around an idler 222 arranged below the roller 97 and infront of the roller 93, thus delivering the paper downwardly against anup right slightly inclined rack 223 which is arranged over one end of areceiving trough 224 into which the papers slide from said rack and inwhich trough or receiver they are pushed forward or packed by packingarms or fingers 225 oscillating back and forth from a position behindrack 223 to :1 position in front thereof, as shown in Fig. said fingers225 passing through the rack 223 when moving backwardly, as will beunderstood, so as to allow the paper to fall in front of the fingers.The fingers are oscillated in harmony with the operation of the printingmechanism to puslp each paper forward as described, by .a rccker shaft226 on which they are mounted below the receiver 224', the bottom of thereceiver being composed of slats 22. upwardly through which the fingersproject. The shaft 220 receives oscillation from cam 228 (Fig. 1), whichis in the form of a box cam mounted on theshatt 119 and having itsgroove 229 so fashioned that by engaging with a lug or pin 230 on a. rod231 connected with shaft 2% by arm 232, it will hold the fingers 225behind the rack 223 until the paper has had ample opportunity to fallinto the receiver and to then throw the fingers 225 t'orward for pushingsuch paper up to its place against the others. The upper end of the rod231 is shown with a strap 233 embracing a hub 234 on shaft 119 as ameans oi guiding and holding the rod in place. As the papers aredeposited in the i'm'eiver Bill suitable n'iarlters for separating onebatca of papers from another, as, for example. where it is desirable toindicate in the addressed papers where the papers which go to one townleave oil and -those which go to another town begin, are insertedbetween the papers by automatic mechanism operating in harmony with theprinting mechanism.

The means for depositing markers between the addressed papers forseparating one batch from another will now be briefly 0X- plained tor aclear understanding o'l -the machine, but this mechanism constitutes nopart of the present invention. Such markers conuarise a number of slats2a? which may he ot' sutlicient length to extend entirely a ross thercceirer 3124, as shown in Figs. S) and 5:. and of v utlicient length tobe supported by the sides of said receivingtrough when they are releasedand allowed to tall, the Sides of the trough beaig lower than the up peredges of the addressed papers contained therein. which are shown at andconse intently the marker or slat 267, when deposited on the edges ofthe trough, as shown in Fig. .3, will serve to separate one batch ofpapers from another and will stick out from both sides of the column ofpapers so that the operator may readily determine where the towns ofdifferent batches begin and terminate. These slats or ma rltcrs 267 areheld at their ends in a vertical column, one upon the other fiatwise bysuitable retainers or guides 265) in the form of vertically arrangedchannel bars and the lower most one of the markers 26? ejected fromthese retainers automatically by any suitable mcchanisn'i oliiorating inharmony with the printing mechanism. For example, the lower end of eachguide 269 is provided preferably at the inner side with a slot 270 inits side wall, see Fig. 5, of sutticient height to permit the lowermostmarker 267 tobe pushed out laterally without laterally displacing thoseabove it, by means of eject-ors 2T1 supported and guided transverselyinthe lower end of each of the retainers 269 in such a way that when theseejcctors are pulled in ardly a plunger 272 on each of the eiectm-s willengage the outer edge of the lowernn ist one of the slats 267 and pushit through the slots 270 in the inner sides of the retainers 269, theseabove the one ejected tailing upon the top of the plunger 272 for thetime being and eventually dropping to the bottom of the retainer 269with the lower one opposite slot 270 when the plunger 2T2 returns to itsouter position, as shown in Fi 5.

Having thus described my invention, whatl claim as new therein, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In an addressing machine, the combination of a supply trou 'h orhopper for containing a supply of tolded papers. a fol lower thereinnarrower than the width of the hopper so as to stand clear of the foldedends of the papers. and means for advancing said tollower to teed thepapers forward.

2. in an addressing machine, the combination of a supply trough orhopper for containing a supply of t'oldcd papers, a follower thcreinnarrower than the width of the hopper so as to stand clear of the foldedends at the papers, a support or one end of said follower bentbacltwardly from the papers at their folded ends so as to support the.papers in the hopper with an equal degree of pressure throughout, andmeans for advancing said follower.

3. in an addressing machine, the combination of a supply trough orhopper, pushers tor forcing the papers one by one from said ing saidfeed mechanism, a detachable connection between said means and feedingmechanism, and means acted on by the advance end of the supply of papersfor throvn ing said connection cut of action and thereby discontinuingthe operation of said-feeding mechanism.

4. In an addressing machine, the combination of a supply trough orhopper, pusl'iers for forcing the papers one by one from said trough,feeding mechanism for keeping the supply up to said pushers. meansacting in concert with the pushersfor operating said feed mechanism, adetachable connection between said means and feed mechanism, and adeficctible gage acted on by the advance end of the, supply of papersfor throwing said connection'out of action and thereby discontinuing theoperation of said feed mechanism.

5. In an addressing machine, the combination of a supply trough orhopper, pushers for forcing the papers one by one from said trough, feedmechanism for keeping the supply up to said pusher-s. means acting inconcert with the pushers for operating said feed mechanism, a detachableconnection between said means and feed mechanism comprising areciprocating deflectihle hook operating in unison with. said pushers.:1 lug adapted to he engaged by said hook and operatively connected withsaid feed mechanism for actuating the latter, means arranged to bedefleet ed by the advancing papers, and an adjusting device between thelatter means and said hook for adjusting the position of the hook withrelation to said latter means.

'6. In an addressing machine, the combination of a. supply trough orhopper for containing a supply of papers, pushers for forcing the papersone by one from said trough, feed mechanism for keeping the supply up tosaid pushers comprising a follower for the papers, an endless belt towhich said follower is secured. and a pawl and ratchet for driving saidbelt: means for actuating said pushers, a detachable operativeconnection between said'n eans and pawl for imparting movement to saidpawl, comprising a deflectible member or hook, at lug with which saidmember oi hook engages and whereby said lug is moved in one directionfor moving aidpawl, and a spring for moving said lug in the returndirection; a gage acted on by the advancing papers and an adjustingscrew for adjusting said hook with relation to said gage.

7. In an addressing machine, the combination of a supply hopper for thepapers, feed mechanism for urging the papers forard in said hoppercomprising a pawl and ratchet by which motion is imparted thereto. anoscillatory c ank arin'and lug connected with said pawl, a hook pivotedto said crank arm and adapted to engage said lug, a gage arranged to bedeflected by the advancing papers and an adjusting screw connected withsaid gage and serving a stop for said hook to limit the movement of thehook toward the lug.

8. In a machine of the class described, the

combination of means for holding a supply of papers on end, means forforcing the papers from said supply comprising means for pulling theentire lowermost edge of the outermost paper away from the others andraising the said edge toward the top of the paper, means pivotallysupported adjacent the end of the first recited means from which thepapers are removed and movable toward and away from the papers in theline of the feeding movement of the papers for holding the main supplywhen the outer paper is pulled away. said rasing means operating inconcert with the said pivotally supported means and also operating toraise the lower edge of the paper over the last recited means, and meansfor receiving the paper thus pulled away.

9, In an addressing machine, the combination of means for holding asupply of papers on edge, means for feeding the supply forward. a gatearranged to engage the edge of the outermost paper and arrest itsforward movement. means for periodically opening said gate to allow theoutermost paper to pass. means for pulling the lowermost edge of theoutermost paper outwardly in front of the gate and raising the entirelowermost edge away from the gate and toward the top of the paper. andmeans for taking away thepaper thus pulled outwardly. V

10. In an addressing mai'hine. the combination of means for holding asupply of papers on edge, means for feeding the sup ply forward, anoutwardly movable gate arranged to engage the outermost pape' and arrestits forward movement. means for inoving said gate into and out ofengagement with the paper, means for pulling the lower' most edge of theoutermost paper outwardly and raising the entire lower edge upwardlytoward the upper edge of the paper, means for moving the latter meansinto and out of engagement with the papers alternately with the gate,and means for taking away the paper thus pulled outwardly.

11. In an addressing machine, the combination of means for holding asupply of papers on end, means for feeding the supply forward, a gatearranged to engage the lowermost edge of the outermost paper and arrestits forward movement, means for periodically opening the gate to allowsaid paper to pass, means for pulling the said lowermost edge of thepaper outwardly in front of the gate and for raising the entirelowermost edge upwardly toward the upper edge of the paper, means forpushing said paper arress said gate after the latter again elosesagainst the supply, and means for tak ing said paper away from the gate.

12. In an addressing machine, the eomhination of means for holding asupply of papers on end, means for feeding the supply forward, a gatearranged to engage the lowermost edge of the outermost paper and arrestits forward movement. means for periodically opening said gate to allowsaid paper to pass. meansl'er pulling the said edge of the paperoutwardly in front of the gate and for iaising the entire lowermost edgeupwardly toward the upper edge of the paper, means for pushing theoutermost paper across said gate a'ttrr the latter eloses against thesupply, and feed rollers ar anged to receive said paper from saidpushers.

3. In an addressing machine, the combination of means for holding asupply of papers on end, means for feeding the sup ply forward, a gatearranged to engage the lowermost edge of the outermost paper, means formoving the said gate outwardly to allow the paper to pass and thenmoving it in again to retain the supply. a pneumatio surlter, nnans formoving said sucker toward and from the outermost paper and intoengagement therewith for pulling the lowermost. edge of said paperoutwardly in front of the gate and for raising the entire said edgeupwardly toward the upper end of the paper, an air exhauster connectedwith said l sucker for producing a partial vacuum l therein. a valve forrelieving said vacuum, means for opening said valve when the gate ymoves inward against the supply, and means for removing the paper pulledoutward by the sucker.

111'. in an addressing machine, the (Olllbh nation oi means for holdinga supply of papers on end, means for feeding the supply torward, a gatearranged to engage the lowermost edge of the outermost paper, means formoving the gate outward to allow l said edge to pass and then moving itin again to retain the supply, an oscillatory sucker, mains for movingsaid sucker toward and from the said outer edge of the outermost paperand into engagement there with for pulling said lowermost edge in frontof the gate and raising the entire lowermost edge upwardly toward theupper edge of the paper, an air exhauster connected with said sucker forproducing a partial vacuum therein, a valve for relieving said vacuum,means for opening said valve when the gate reengages the supply, andmeans for removing the paper pulled outwardly by the sueher.

15. In an "addressing machine, the c0mhination of a supply trough orhopper for containing a supply of folded papers placed on end with thefolded or doubled edges adjacent one side of the hopper, means forsupporting the rear end of the supply of papers, and means for advancingthe last said means to feed the papers forward, the first said meansbeing adapted to hold the body portion of the paners more compactly thanthe folded edges.

16. In an addressing inaehiue, the Combination of means for holding asupply of papers on edge, means for feeding the supply forward, a gatearranged to engage the edge of the euterm st. paper and arrest itsforward movement; said gate being supported 'l'or operation in the lineof the feeding l'i'iovement of the papers, means for periodieallyopening said gate to allow the outermost paper to pass, and means forpulling the lowermost edge of the outermost paper outwardly in front ofthe gate and raising the entire lowermost edge away from the gate andtoward the top of the paper.

SANDFORD (l. COX.

ittlest see I A. lloritiNS, M. B. Amis'ran'r.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe 'Gommissioner of Patents, Washington, D. Q.

